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public understanding of the value of coastal ecosystems; (2) 

 transfer technology; and (3) develop training programs. 



Taken together, these efforts to apply NOAA-wide capabilities, in 

 partnership with academia and other governmental resource 

 managers, will enhance our ability to manage and conserve marine 

 species and ecosystems before they are damaged. 



MODERNIZE NAVIGATION AND POSITIONING SERVICES 



NCAA will meet the Nation's needs for the next decade's marine 

 and aeronautical navigation systems that electronically integrate 

 accurate chart data, global positioning system-based locations, 

 and real-time environmental information. The Nations 's commerce 

 will move efficiently with minimal risk of accident. Databases 

 supporting these navigation systems will provide managers, 

 engineers, and scientists with basic layers of geographic 

 information for the coastal zone at the touch of a keyboard. 



A basic responsibility of NCAA, deeply rooted in its history and 

 written into law, is "to provide charts and related information 

 for the safe navigation of marine and air commerce; and to 

 provide basic data for engineering and scientific purposes and 

 for other commercial and industrial needs" (33 U.S.C. 883). 

 Regulations require that NCAA charts be carried aboard all 



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